Nuala Ní Chonchúir's Blog, page 27

DUBLIN DAYS - A LITERARY WEEKEND

I'd a busy two days in Dublin: I went to the Plotting History event at the Dublin Book Festival on Friday, featuring Lia Mills, Patricia O'Reilly and Martina Devlin, all of whom were very interesting on their diverse and excellent novels. Tea and cake afterwards with the sublime Mia Gallagher in Queen of Tarts.

Karl Parkinson, MCingOn that evening to the launch of Dave Lordan's new poetry collection from Salmon, Lost Tribe of the Wicklow Mountains  in Toner's. Karl Parkinson was a great MC, Philip Coleman of TCD  delivered a considered and moving launch speech (he and Dave are old friends) and Dave read brilliantly, as always.
Philip Coleman launching Dave Lordan's new bookI love hearing the context of poems and enjoyed Dave's explanations about the lost tribes and about learning to love the corner of Wicklow he calls home. It was great to see pals old and new, including Kerrie O'Brien, Dmita Xidous and Nicole Rourke, director of the Big Smoke Writing Factory. I do so love a night out in Dublin.

Dave reading (phone pic, so excuse quality)Saturday then was my Lines of Vision event at the National Gallery with Moya Cannon, Dermot Bolger and Roddy Doyle, with Luke Gibbons as chairperson.

Roddy DoyleWe each read our piece from the Lines of Vision book (Roddy and me - stories, Moya and Dermot - poems) and then talked about our relationship to Jack B. Yeats and why we had chosen Yeats's particular paintings as jumping off points for the pieces we wrote. The place was jammers, Luke was a great moderator and I learnt even more about Jack B. Yeats which makes me fall even harder for him and his work.

Dermot, Moya, Janet McLean (curator and editor of the LoV book), Luke, me, Roddy)It was a great weekend of literary chatter, food and drinks, but am happy to be back at my desk now ready to continue on into novel #4. It has slowed down a little so I may need to have a research/brainstorming week with it. As long as I stay in touch with it, anything will do.

Much as I love getting away, I love even more to come back and potter at my desk. So, while I thank the stars for outings, I thank them equally for retreats.

LINES OF VISION : JACK B. YEATS EVENT

I'm taking part in the Writers on Art: Jack B. Yeats study morning, at the National Gallery of Ireland. Me, Moya Cannon, Roddy Doyle & Dermot Bolger. 15th Nov. €15. All details here.

FICTION LAUREATE PIECE IN THE IRISH TIMES

The Fiction Laureate post is given the once over in the Irish Times today, by Sarah Gilmartin. The article is here. I am 'newer talent' (ten books on...): 'The names that feature range from established authors such as Anne Enright, Colum McCann, John Banville and Sebastian Barry, to newer talent such as Donal Ryan, Eimear McBride and Nuala Ní Chonchúir.'

POETRY MEETS POLITICS COMP 2015

AnnouncingPOETS MEET POLITICS2015a writing competition for poemswith a political theme
Prize : €500Closing date: 25 January 2015Judge: Derek Sellen
Full details atwww.hungryhillwriting.com

NEW REVIEW FOR *CLOSET*

Writer Lane Ashfeldt reviews The Closet of Savage Mementos at writing.ie here.

A taster: '...chick lit is not what you get from Nuala Ní Chonchuir. There’s a sharp analytical edge here that cuts into the muscle of the action, dissects each tangled sinew that connects the characters. She is exacting in her descriptions of physicality and of relations between the sexes, and this clarity of observation runs right through her writing, its pages damp and sticky with the exertions of her characters, and the griefs they give each other…'

JOELY RICHARDSON AS EMILY DICKINSON - OFF-BROADWAY

When I was in New York last week I went to the Westside Theatre's production of The Belle of Amherst, off Broadway. It's one-hander by William Luce and the role was made famous by Julie Harris. This time Joely Richardson plays Emily Dickinson.

When the play was announced, some of the madsers on Facebook had a little hate party. Here's one typical comment: '''Emily Dickinson'' to be made into a movie??????? (sic) ''Emily'' is not a face, but, an idea inside of the Ideal, a cosmic metaphor grasped, then given gravity on a sigh, or the whim of wonder, from our menial intellects. And, you want to personify that abundance of knowledge within the frame of a has-been Actress! Please People, don't send Emily's name to the lost world, by allowing this woman to even attempt going inside the mind of Emily Dickinson. We want our Children, and there (sic) Children to remember ''Emily's'' name. This is not the way to do 'Emily Dickinson'' justice.'
Yes, this is what you're up against - cosmic metaphors and all. If the film of my Miss Emily novel gets made (touch wood) I imagine there will be more choice viewpoints such as the above to contend with.

I suffer from Pre Theatre Stress. I am always trepidatious going to the theatre, to any gig or play. I fear that I will waste a couple of hours of my life on a below par performance and I'm just too impatient for that. It is mostly misplaced - I rarely don't enjoy the theatre. And, glad to say, Joely was wonderful as Emily - she was intense, witty, energetic, moving and warm. Just the Emily I know. Her accent was great (not one dip in it) and she used the set well. I took a sneaky pic of the set with my phone, it's not great but I add it for what it's worth.
The stage is split in two - to the left Emily's bedroom, slightly elevated, where she writes. To the right, the parlour, where she receives visitors. Emily addresses the audience as if we are visitors to her home and, with words taken from her letters and poems, she tells us about her life and those closest to her: her brother and sister, Austin and Vinnie, her parents, her beloved sister-in-law Sue, her 'preceptor' Thomas Wentworth Higginson (who edited her poems after her death) etc. She has one-sided conversations with these people and that, surprisingly, works really well.
Joely as Emily - pic by Carol Rosegg, Wall St JournalJoely Richardson has incredibly expressive hands and she uses them brilliantly as she flits like a bird around the stage, telling us her recipe for Black Cake one minute and the next, heartbreakingly, recounting the death of her nephew, Gib. She cries (briefly) many times during the course of the play (I cried along) and this helped get across the fervency and depth of Emily's personality. I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the themes and the poems that chime with my own novel - it made me giddy to hear/see them played out in front of me. It makes my book seem very real and makes me fall in love with Emily and her world all over again.
I've now seen both covers for the novel - the USA/Canada one and the UK one. They are both very pretty and also quite different to each other. I can't wait to show them off. My book tour in the States next July is being planned and meetings with booksellers in Massachusetts next spring too, so I'll be back and forth a bit, it seems. It's so exciting and I love America, so it's all good. I should be able to announce the UK publisher soon (contract is signed) and do a cover reveal for the UK side too. Looking forward to sharing it with you all.
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The New York Times review of the play is here. The Hollywood Reporter has a kinder one here.

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN!

Creepy doll at Southwall Lighthouse - pic by my cuz, Clodagh O'ConnorI am still struggling with jetlag, sleep all over the place, and not doing very well catching up on everyone and everything. So if I owe you an email, bear with me.
For the day that's in it I have a very short ghostly story up at Wales Arts Review for their Hallowe'en special. A dead girl speaks. It's here. There are stories by John Lavin and Jon Gower, among others. They also feature their first ever podcast, where two of their top writers (and horror fans) select a list of 13 alternative horror films to keep you up on Hallowe'en night.

PENNY DREADFUL CALL FOR SUBS

The lovely Penny Dreadful lads want your work - preferably 'ball-grabbing, punch-in-the-face writing from nice, courteous ladies and gents.' And 'no funny fonts'. Yes! Send your stories and poems here.

NEW YORK & NEW MEXICO AFTERS

I got home from my NY/NM odyssey this morning. I guess I should be unpacking, but here I am instead. 2014 has been a great year for me but this trip was one of the absolute highlights. The contrast between Manhattan and New Mexico was huge - each enriching and enchanting in its own inimitable way.


It was fantastic to meet with Tara Singh Carlson, my editor at Penguin. She brought me and my agent, Gráinne, for lunch in Giorgione and we had a lovely companionable natter over delicious pizzas. Back to the Penguin Office on Hudson Street then for a meet-n-greet with lots of the people who will work on my book: sales and marketing people, mostly. All lovely and brimming with positivity about Miss Emily.
Penguin giftsThey gifted me two Penguin classics with my initials on the cover, which was very sweet. I also got a bound proof of my novel to take with me to New Mexico, for my first ever public reading from the book at the Uni of New Mexico in Albuquerque. All thanks to my friend Caleb Richardson, a professor in the history department there, who arranged my visit.


Bowery muralThat event went well - the audience were lively and smart and we had a good Q&A about historical fiction. I was also brought to lunch in Slate Street Café - a favourite of the Breaking Bad team when they were in Albuquerque - with, among others, the stunning Gail Houston, head of English at UNM, and poet-professor Diane Thiel. I could've talked to those women all day - brilliant people.


It was on to Santa Fe then for the ACIS West Conference for Irish Studies, to meet old pals and get myself an education on Ireland. It is amazing to listen to experts talk about your country - I always learn a ton at these conferences.



The road between Albuquerque and Santa Fe is remarkable - vast blue skies one day, mountains marbled with clouds the next, red earth, reservations dotted with piñons and casinos. These places are at high altitude and the air is thin and fresh and the sun extremely bright. It is a beautiful drive.


Rail yard, Santa Fe Our conference hotel, the only native-owned one in Santa Fe, was beside the rail yard, an area of cute cafés, a farmers' market, book shops and great bars. Talk about spoilt rotten.


Myles Dungan & Glen Gendzel do Mr DooleyI attended too many events/papers to go into them all here but highlights included Myles Dungan and Glen Gendzel's hilarious enactment of Finley Peter Dunne's Mr Dooley: a series of crankily spot-on monologues on the state of the States. Though Dunne was writing in the late 19th C., the topics were very contemporary, including emigration and the provision of libraries. Andrew Carnegie got the lash of Mr Dooley's tongue: 'They're tearing down poorhouses to put up libraries.'


UNM students perform The WeirAnother highlight was the production of Conor McPherson's The Weir by students from UNM, under the direction of Maria Szasz. Though not trained actors, they really embraced the play and it made for a funny and moving performance.



Margot Gayle Backus, who can only be described as a genius, gave an erudite and lively keynote on Irish children in Imperial scandal. Lucky are the Belfast students who will benefit from her being at Queen's on a Fulbright from January 2015.


Saint Kateri Tekakwitha statue at St Francis Cathedral, Santa FeOther guests included the fab Nicholas Allen and Ernie O'Malley's son, Cormac, who presented on Ernie's time in Santa Fe after the Irish Civil War. Fascinating stuff and he took great photographs which we got to see. Charlotte Headrick and Eileen Kearney launched their anthology of Irish women's plays, though the book won't be available for a few weeks. More on that here.


Gerry Carthy & friend play at the Swiss BakeryAnd what else? Well, we socialised heartily around the town, eating well and drinking modestly (mostly!). I got to meet and listen to Mayo-man Gerry Carthy, a multi-talented musician, at two separate venues in Santa Fe.



I went to the launch of a photography book about Ireland by Elizabeth Billups and Gerry Adams (yes, that Gerry) in Collected Works Bookstore. The owner Dorothy fed us tea and cakes while we listened to Elizabeth's enthusiastic take on Ireland and its landscape and people.


Elizabeth Billups at her Collected Works launchOn my last day, I was brought up the Turquoise Trail, through gorgeous mountain scenery, to Tinkertown Museum, an enchanting and utterly charming collection of miniature villages, funfair kitsch and Western memorabilia. I giggled my way around the place and it is, hands down, the best museum I have ever been to.



It reminded me of my late sister Nessa, a theatre designer, who also specialised in miniature foods and dioramas, among other things. As a collector, and the daughter of committed collectors, I felt right at home among the glorious, eccentric clutter of it all.


A Tinkertown clown sums up how I felt leaving Santa FeSo, I'm now home, gathering my thoughts about the trip, thinking about all the lovely people I met and spent time with over meals and drinks, and at events. I look forward to doing it all again with them next year, at a yet-to-be-decided venue. For now, sleep!

Laureate for Irish Fiction nomination

I am delighted to have been nominated for The Laureate for Irish Fiction. Big thanks to whoever nominated me! The website for the Laureate, which will be awarded in January 2015, reads:

"The Laureate for Irish Fiction will be awarded by the Arts Council to an Irish writer of national and international distinction. The honour will be used to promote Irish literature nationally and internationally and to encourage the public to engage with high quality Irish fiction. The Laureate will have a three-year term. Over the period, he or she will teach creative writing to students at University College Dublin and New York University, will spend time developing his or her own work, and will participate in a number of major, public events and promotions. The Laureate will receive a total of €150,000 over the three years."

Bring it on, says I. I am in New York as I write and the idea of having a long spell here, to teach writing, is swoon-worthy.

Here is the list of 34 nominees:
Anne EnrightAnne HavertyBelinda McKeon Bernard MacLaverty Catherine Dunne Christine Dwyer Hickey Claire Keegan Colum McCann Dermot Bolger Donal Ryan Edna O'BrienEimear McBrideEmma DonoghueEoin McNamee Evelyn Conlon Hugo HamiltonJaki McCarrick Jennifer JohnstonJohn BanvilleJohn Boyne John MacKenna Joseph O'ConnorLiam Mac Cóil Michael CoadyNiall Williams Nuala Ní Chonchuir Patrick McCabe Paul Murray Peter CunninghamRé O LaighleisRoddy Doyle Sebastian BarryTom Kilroy William Trevor 
More here.